There is presently no cure for retinal vascular occlusion, the blockage of blood flow by clots in central or branch retinal veins and arteries that causes vision loss and blindness. Yet unlike other blinding retinal diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, for which definitive treatments remain years if not decades away, a cure for retinal vascular occlusions could be obtained within as little as one to two years. This is good news for the relatively large number of people—as many as 2 to 4 percent of people over age 70 (51% of cases of retinal vascular occlusion occur over age 65) T/K—who are affected by this disorder.
A cure for retinal vessel occlusion could be achieved by removing the blood clot. Clot-dissolving drugs that enter the bloodstream, however, may provoke life-threatening complications, and surgical intervention and injections directly to the eye have had limited success. Current treatments for such occlusions are therefore limited to laser applications that treat complications rather than the condition itself. For example, laser is applied to patients with poor blood flow in the eye secondary to retinal vessel occlusions, leading to growth of new vessels in the front of the eye and increased eye pressure. At that point the laser only serves stop new blood vessel growth, but does not help to recover lost vision or improve blood flow.
Current treatments for vein occlusions are limited to laser application to prevent complications or invasive surgical therapies that have limited success. The primary disease process involves a blood clot in the vein. Currently there is no definite treatment for retinal vascular occlusive diseases such as central or branch retinal vein occlusion and central or branch retinal artery occlusion. A cure in these conditions would involve removal of the blood clot. Systemic use of thrombolytics (drugs that dissolve the blood clot) may be associated with life threatening complications; on the other hand, intravitreal injection of these drugs has proved to be ineffective.